The hijinks continue

We recently heard about someone going to a Pontiac show and copying down the VIN of a real GTO Judge. He then sent this VIN to Pontiac Historical Services and, for $35, he received a legitimate build sheet for a Judge. The scoundrel then altered the document to match the VIN of a Judge clone and sold the car for $30,000, using the forged PHS document as proof of the car’s “authenticity.” PHS can’t be held liable, and Jim Mattison, the company owner, has no way of knowing who is sending in a VIN. It gets better. A man in New York is selling an Oldsmobile engine and even tells you how to make it into a much more valuable W-30 engine. How? The seller wisely won’t do it, but tells you how so he cannot be held liable. Simply grind the bottom line off the “E” on the block and turn it into an “F.” That two-second operation with a grinder makes the engine a W-30. To further sweeten the pot, he will sell you a reproduction W-30 intake for an additional $400. Let the buyer beware.

(This post originally appeared in the December 28, 2006, issue of the Hemmings eWeekly Newsletter.)